Sussex start 2022 cricket season v Nottinghamshire - and will welcome New Zealand to Hove

Cricket will return to the 1st Central County Ground, Hove with a pre-season friendly against Surrey starting on Wednesday 23 March.

The competitive action begins a fortnight later with the new campaign returning to a two division structure in the LV= Insurance County Championship. Sussex will be joined by Derbyshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire in Division Two.

Ian Salisbury’s men will start their County Championship campaign with a home fixture against Nottinghamshire on Thursday 7th April. This match signals the start of an uninterrupted run of six County Championship matches across April and May before they welcome World Champions, New Zealand, to Hove in a four-day tourist match.

The game against the Kiwis will begin on Friday 20 May, as the visitors prepare for their three-match test series against England in June.

The Sharks will then launch their attack on the T20 Vitality Blast title with James Kirtley leading the team into the 20th season of the competition. An opening match against Glamorgan under the floodlights of Hove awaits on Thursday 26th May, before taking on the remainder of the tightly contested South group with the aim of booking the Sharks a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season.

Another significant change to the schedule, compared with previous seasons, sees the T20 Vitality Blast Finals Day move earlier in the summer to Saturday 16 July. The Sharks will be hoping to be at Edgbaston for their third appearance in five seasons come mid-July.

Ian Salisbury will then once again take over the reins as the attention turns to the Royal London Cup where the side will face off against Durham, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire throughout August.

Similar to the County Championship, Nottinghamshire provide the opposition for the opening fixture, with the match taking place on Tuesday 26 July at Trent Bridge. The ground will also host the showpiece final on Saturday 17 September.

Sussex will then conclude the 2022 season with a push for promotion in the County Championship with a visit from Glamorgan on Monday 26 September.

For the full list of fixtures, visit www.sussexcricket.co.uk.

All home fixtures are currently scheduled to be played at The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. An update on out-ground cricket at Horsham, Eastbourne and Arundel will be communicated in due course.

* The best way to following Sussex and the Sharks in 2022 is to become a member or purchase a T20 Blast Pass. Over 50% of Blast Passes have already been sold, and now that fixtures have been released we expect demand to once again be high. Both products provide fantastic value, to find out more and purchase visit our membership page by visiting www.sussexcricket.co.uk/membership.

Information on individual match tickets, including the tourist match against New Zealand, will be communicated shortly. Currently no individual match day tickets are available to purchase.

Hospitality packages for all matches are currently being finalised and will be on sale shortly. To express your interest, please email [email protected].